Misty had been swimming when the call arrived. Lily had taken it, and then called for Misty. Answering the phone, Misty had been surprised to see Cynthia calling.

"What can I do for you?" the red-head enquired.
"Come to Indigo. I need somebody to help teach at a training camp I'm running."
"I see."
When nothing else was forthcoming, Cynthia started speaking again.
"Misty, I know that you were hoping for 'Champion' to train you, but he has made it clear that you aren't strong enough yet. However, this training camp will consist of some of the strongest trainers in Johto, and you could learn a lot from it. Furthermore, you are one of the strongest Water-Type trainers in the world, and they could use your experience."

Misty had been silent for a few moments. It was an honor to be asked, and it would make her a stronger trainer. Everything she wanted. There was only one answer she could really give. However, there were a few things she wanted as well.

"I'll do it, on a couple of conditions."
"Go ahead." Cynthia said her face suddenly slightly wary.
"Firstly, I want to be able to bring Gary."
"Gary Oak?" Cynthia asked, her voice betraying her interest.
"Yes."
"May I ask why?" Cynthia asked.
"Two reasons. He wants to get back involved in training Pokémon with him between research projects. The other is that he's my boyfriend. And don't worry, I'll vouch that he is still a good enough trainer" Misty's face was a picture of determination, something which Cynthia suspected it was on a regular basis. She knew about Misty's stubborn streak.
"Fair enough. Congratulations."
"Thanks. The other condition is that I want to be able to train with 'Champion' for at least one day."
"I can't guarantee that, he is currently out of communication. However, I'll see what I can do."
"I suppose that's good enough. When do you want us with you?"
"As soon as possible."

Now, two days later Misty was stepping into the accommodation block at Indigo. Beside her was Gary, dragging a pair of suitcases whilst Pikachu who was determined to come when he heard where they were going behind them, dragging another, smaller suitcase. The couple was unsure how long Cynthia expected them to stay, so they had a fairly substantial amount of stuff with them. Looking around, both were impressed with the glamour of the building that they were staying in; whilst most trainers who came to Indigo were given standard accommodation, Misty had been allocated a room in the more exclusive building. Usually it was given over to Elites and Champions, but Cynthia had managed to get Misty and Gary a room. Reaching the receptionist, Misty gave her name and was rewarded with a key to a room. Quickly finding it, they left their suitcases there, and went to the main administration building to find Cynthia. They were directed up to the eleventh floor by the receptionist. Reaching her office, they found her slightly stressed.

"Is everything alright Cynthia?" Gary asked from the office door, Misty stood next to him.
The blonde trainer turned to face them. "Just stressed, I was busy making sure all the trainers arrive and then a whole load more work appeared out of nowhere. Anyway" and she extended her hand to Misty and Gary. "Welcome to Indigo".

Misty and Gary shared a private grin. Cynthia looked every bit as stressed as they had when they had been organizing the new recruits in Cerulean. After shaking hands, Cynthia gestured to the chairs in front of her desk, before walking around and seating herself behind it.

"Now, the camp." Cynthia started. "Tomorrow we will start training. I will be doing most of it, whilst Misty you will be running a session for the Water Pokémon. I should tell you that you aren't the only specialist here; I have managed to pick up specialists for Fire, Fighting, Rock, Steel and Grass Types. I'm working on getting specialists for the other types, but that won't happen before this camp. You may have heard of some of these trainers, they are certainly fairly well known."

Misty and Gary sat listening to Cynthia as she explained the arrangements. They certainly seemed thorough. She explained how the camp would last for two weeks, longer than originally planned, but given the effort that she had put into organizing it Cynthia wanted it to be worth it.

"And you Gary, what will you be doing?" Cynthia finally asked.
"I can help train any time, I don't specialize. I also am able to bring the benefit of my research to my instruction, something I believe you do as well."

Cynthia looked at him, before acknowledging his statement with a wry smile. Before any of them could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. Suspecting who it was Cynthia called for the knocker to enter. The door burst open and a young women with blue hair waltzed into the room. She looked under twenty, had a Piplup on her shoulder and wore a pink skirt with a black shirt on top. A smile burst across her face as she took in Gary and Misty sat there.

"You two never told me you were going to be here!" Dawn burst out, managing to give Misty and Gary both a radiant smile and an angry look at the same time. Not waiting for either of them to answer, Dawn turned to Cynthia. "I've spoken to Wallace; he unfortunately won't be able to come and sends his apologies. I should be able to manage without him; I've had plenty of practice battling over the years."
"Thanks Dawn. I appreciate this." Cynthia managed to get out, before the exuberant women could say anything else.
"Oh no need to worry, I'm happy to. I'm always happy to put trainers in their places, its great fun. We're between contest seasons anyway, so taking a couple of weeks is no trouble."

Cynthia looked at her computer screen before suddenly standing up. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have to go and see 'Champion'. I'll come back when I'm done; my meetings with him tend to be short." She stood and strode to the door. "Oh, by the way Dawn. You might want to congratulate the two of your friends." Smiling to herself, Cynthia stepped out.

Gary and Misty looked at each other, whilst Dawn seemed to grow in front of them. Silently cursing Cynthia, Misty sheepishly looked up at Dawn.

"So Misty" the bluenette said, the tone of her voice intimidating the usually unflappable red-head. "Why might I want to congratulate you?"
"Oh just Gary and I are going out" Misty said, trying to brush it off as something minor. The high-pitched squeal from Dawn told her it wasn't going to work.
"When? Where? Why didn't you tell me?"
Gary held up his hands in surrender. "Dawn, if you just calm down we'll tell you, promise. We're not going to run away."

Dawn took a deep breath, before stealing Cynthia's seat across from Misty and Gary. Leaning forwards on her elbows, she waited expectantly for the story to begin.

"It was the night of the Gym inspection." Misty started. "Gary had been helping us with the whole thing, using his name to try to attract a few more trainees to the Gym. He worked harder than I think he has ever worked in his life." At this point she grinned at her boyfriend who had grunted is disagreement. "Admit it Gary, you hardly used to work that hard."
"Yeah, but I did some work Red" Gary muttered back.
"Anyway, after we passed, Gary asked if I wanted to go out to celebrate. I thought at first that he meant everybody involved, but it turned out that he really wanted to go out with just me. It was a great first date, though I'm still not sure if he could afford the restaurant we went to."
"Trust me Red, I can" Gary grinned. "You're just not used to having money. Anyway, after she finally realized that I had been trying to get her to realize that I liked her for some time, I asked her if she would go out with me, and she said yes."
"And to answer your over question" Misty butted in, before Dawn could start speaking. "We haven't told you because we haven't spoken to you in the last week. We were telling people when we spoke to them, instead of calling people up and telling them."

Dawn looked at the two of them, before bursting into a huge smile. "Congratulations to both of you. Can I be the bridesmaid?"
Gary and Misty just looked at each other and laughed.

Ash Ketchum exited the elevator in the Pokémon League headquarters, striding towards his office. Under the building, there was a large group of police officers being coordinated by a dozen Officer Jenny's, arresting the five hundred and ninety two Team Rocket members he had taken in his raid on their base. At his waist, Ash still had the Pokéballs containing some of his team whilst the rest of his Pokémon were watching the Rockets, making sure that there were no more problems at the very end. As he reached his office, Ash sat behind the desk, finally letting tiredness reach over him. The raid on the training base had been nearly a week previously, the rest of the time being made up negotiating Kanto without anybody seeing. He had not slept for the duration, and his Pokémon had snatched what rest they could. As a group they were utterly exhausted, and he was only waiting for the final Rockets to be taken into custody so he could go home and rest. As he waited he turned to his computer, looking over the events of the last week. He noted that Indigo had a lot more trainers in residence than usual, as they were all there for a training camp of Cynthias. Ash brought up the list of trainers she had invited and scanned it quickly. He smiled to himself as he saw Sam and Mellanie on there. Closing the list, he looked up as Cynthia entered the room, taking the seat opposite him.

"Welcome back 'Champion'. I assume from the staggering number of Rockets downstairs that your mission was a total success?" Cynthia asked.
"Yes" Came the blunt reply.
"You are aware that we don't actually have enough cells for all of them? Indigo was never quite anticipated to be a prison."
"I know. They will be distributed to prisons across regions. There is a major prison for each region; there is more than enough space."
"I suppose. But even they aren't limitless; you can't arrest every Rocket you see."
"I won't have to. Now I know the location of their headquarters, I will lead a team to capture the Rockets there. The majority of Rockets can be integrated back into society; only the leadership will have to be held permanently."

As Cynthia's back straightened in surprise, she reflected that it seemed to happen every time she came here. Whenever she felt the need to visit her successor, he managed to surprise her. She supposed she should be accustomed to it by now, but he always seemed to be several steps ahead.

"Where is it?" she asked, unable to keep the interest out of her voice.
"Goldenrod City. Before you ask, you will not be needed for this operation."
"So you're going in once again? Without back-up?"

Ash looked up, showing Cynthia the darkness under his trademark hat. Whilst she couldn't see it, she felt the power of the gaze which was directed at her.

"You've seen my results" the Pokémon Master stated. "Do you think I need help?"

Before Cynthia could answer, Ash stood up.

"The last of the Rockets has been dealt with. I will be taking my Pokémon to rest" he said as he stepped towards the door.
"When are you planning the next attack?" Cynthia asked him.
"In a few days. I haven't slept for a week, my Pokémon have had a few hours each in that time. We need to recover before we strike once again. Enjoy your training camp Cynthia."
"Will you be able to help out with that? Just a day spent training with you would be worthwhile, I've never seen Pokémon looking as healthy as yours do downstairs." Cynthia called after him down the corridor. At the end of it, he turned and tilted his hat back, allowing Cynthia to see his eyes once again; the darkness in one and the dancing color in the other.

"I will join you on Thursday."

And with that, he was gone.

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea Mel."
"Why Sam? We are good enough trainers to be here; otherwise we wouldn't have been invited."
"That guy we saw as we came in. Don't you know who he was?"
Mellanies look of confusion was enough to answer for her.
"His name is Aaron, the Silver Conference Champion from last year." Sam explained. "I didn't even know he was still training in Johto. That is the kind of standard that are here, we just don't compare."

Mellanie couldn't stop the look of surprise from sweeping across her features. She had heard of Aaron, but she hadn't recognized him. The two friends were sat in their room in the luxury accommodation at Indigo Plateau. The quality of the room, easily up at five-star hotel standard showed them how important this training camp was. Hearing that the Johto league Champion was in attendance, she realized that she might be out of her depth, despite her confidence. Seeing the uncertainty on her face, Sam continued.

"And think about where we are. We are at Indigo Plateau." Sam put as much emphasis on the last two words as possible. "You know, home of the Pokémon Master. What if he chooses to spend a day with us? Think we can even register on his scale?"

That got Mellanies attention. 'Champion' had a fearsome reputation, he had taken one of the best Water Pokémon trainers apart in her element and utterly thrashed Cynthia when he took her title. If they had to go up against him, they would be destroyed without him even trying. However, as soon as she had heard about the camp, Mellanie had decided to do her absolute best. She had guessed that there would be some top trainers there, but she had promised herself that she wouldn't be cowed by them. As a result, she was determined to make sure that Sam didn't embarrass them.

"Look, just do our best?" Mellanie asked him. "If you go into the training assuming you're the worst, you will be. Be positive and we'll see how we do. I suspect we'll be the youngest, so nobody will expect great things from us." She jumped off her bed, and bounded over to Sam who was sat on his own, before hugging the fretting boy. "We'll be fine. Just don't push our Pokémon too hard. And the Pokémon Master? We've met him, which is more than I suspect most of the other trainers can say. Do our best right?"

Sam nod was clearly reluctant, but accepted the reminder of the promise that they two of them had frequently made when they were younger. As Mellanie climbed off his bed once again, he got up and strolled to the window, looking out of it. Directly opposite his room was the main stadium, somewhere he was hoping to fight at some point. Looking down the street he saw a massive Pokémon Center which was clearly placed to service the stadium, as it was next to it, and attached. Looking the other way, he saw a large building which was the administration block for the Pokémon League. As he watched, he saw three people leave the main exit. One was a red-headed trainer, dressed in the blue that she had become famous for. She wore royal blue trousers, and a similarly colored shirt. Next to her was a man dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a loose white shirt. He had wavy brown hair, and had his arm round Misty as they walked. Just behind them, came a woman with blue hair, dressed in a pink skirt and a black top. Sam recognized the two women, but he wasn't certain about the man. Thinking quickly, he called Mellanie over to the window.

"Mel, who's that guy down there? I sort of recognize him, but I'm not sure." Sam asked.
"Which guy?" came the reply as his childhood friend joined him at the window.
"The one with Misty Waterflower and Dawn Hikari, the two women down there." Sam said, pointing towards them.
"Oh Gary Oak?" Mellanie answered, blushing slightly.
"Thanks Mellanie" Sam said with a grin. "You don't still have a crush on him do you?"

Mellanie turned bright pink. Stuttering out a retort which Sam didn't believe for one second, she left the window and went back to her bed. Sam, still chuckling to himself, went back to his bed.

"Wonder why they are here" he said to the air.
"Who?" Mellanie answered, not really listening.
"Gary, Misty, Dawn. They are all famous, Dawns the strongest coordinator around, whilst Misty is supposedly the best Water-type trainer in the world. She could help you with Totodile, make him stronger."
"If they are still around…" the girl muttered.
"Sam lay back on his bed. "Don't worry; I'm sure that this will benefit both of us. And who knows, you might be able to finally beat Quilava with Totodile again."

The following morning, the two of them headed downstairs to breakfast. They were greeted with an impressive array of the most powerful trainers in Johto. Sitting slightly apart from the rest of the trainers, they ate a quick breakfast and then went to a large training room set underneath Indigo Stadium. The room had a large platform raised at one end with a microphone, but it looked slightly out-of-place, like it wasn't usually there. Before long all the trainers were in the room, chatting away with each other. Sam and Mellanie felt overwhelmed, and saw some of the trainers looking at them in surprise that trainers of their age had made it. Before anybody came to ask them, who they were, a door leading onto the platform opened and a tall blonde woman stepped out. Behind her came a group of people who lined up behind her. The tall women stepped up to the microphone and cleared her throat. Silence fell across the assembled trainers quickly, and they all turned to look up at Cynthia.

"Welcome" the ex- Pokémon Master started. "This is the first of hopefully many training camps that I will be running here at Indigo. You are all trainers who are currently based in Johto, and deemed sufficiently strong to train here. Behind me are some people you might recognize. They will be helping run the camp. However, before we get to business I need to inform you of the facilities here. You are in the training area given to the Pokémon Master under Indigo Stadium. The current Master, 'Champion' has given them to us to use for our training. Therefore, you can expect everything to be of the highest quality. Now, to the training. For the first week, you will be able to train where you please in this training area. Behind me are a series of specialists. Misty, who specializes in water-types, John in fire-types, Katy in fighting-types, George in rock-types, Lili in grass-types and Aaron in steel Pokémon. I know that this is an incomplete coverage of all types, but each of these trainers understand far more than just their own type. Their specialty is in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of all types of Pokémon and using their own type to defeat them. In addition, there is Dawn Hikari, who I expect you will all recognize as she has won Grand Festivals in all regions multiple times. She will be able to advice in the art of making your Pokémon fight in the more attractive manner used in contests. This may seem unnecessary to you, but trust me, it can also make your Pokémon stronger. Coupled with that, Dawn is a sufficiently powerful trainer to be able to beat a large proportion of you. And the final person up here is Gary Oak, the researcher. He will be working alongside me in general training. Any questions so far?"

As Cynthia stopped talking, silence hung over the room. She could see the minds of trainers working hard as they thought about how they would spend the first week, either working to improve their mastery of all types, or in training in an individual type with a specialist. Casting her gaze along the trainers she saw the two youngsters, a short way away from the rest. Guessing that this was the two youngsters that Olive had sent she marked them down for watching. Cynthia was also happy to be able to put faces to the two names. She had been shocked when 'Champion' had suggested that she keep an eye on Sam Fernandez and Mellanie Rigger, and now a month on was pleased to see them in person. Judging the time to be right, and noting the absence of any questions, Cynthia started to speak once again.

"The second week will place more emphasis on each of you working together, alongside the specialists. Now, there are maps of the training complex, although it is very simple. There is a field for every type, as well as four combination fields that encompass multiple types that can be set before training. Each of the specialists will be working in their field, whilst Dawn, Gary and I will be using some of the combination fields. If you wish to simply use the facilities without any help that is your prerogative but…"

Cynthia broke off as a door behind her opened once again. The shock on the faces of the trainers in front of her was enough to make her turn around. Stepping through the door was 'Champion'. Dressed in black, trousers, a shirt, jacket, fingerless gloves and his customary hat, he strode onto the platform next to Cynthia. As all attention was settled onto him, he started to speak, his voice ringing out across the silent room.

"It is known that I do not like media attention. Do not bring any to myself or this camp. I will be observing whilst my Pokémon recover from recent exertions. Do not disrupt the Pokémon League whilst you are here. Respect the Pokémon, who work with you, they are what give you your strength"

He then strode back out the door he had come through, it swinging shut behind him. Cynthia watched a small smile on her face. She knew that in a short speech he had made more impact on the watching trainers than she could with an hour long speech. Turning back to the waiting trainers, she started to talk once again.

"As I was saying, should you desire to train alone, that is up to you, the facilities remain open to you. And as the Pokémon Master made clear, he does not want any media attention focused on this; it will disrupt both your training and his activities. As a final note, whilst he will be watching, if anybody impresses him, you might find yourself invited to a training session with him. That is all I have to say, other than enjoy the two weeks and good luck"

Cynthia stepped back from the microphone as the respectful silence that everything had passed in was broken by the trainers discussing this latest piece of news. All the trainers looked excited, as they started to move off, heading into the arrangement of training rooms in the complex. Cynthia heard somebody clear their throat behind her, and turned around.

"So 'Champion' might be training them?" Misty Waterflower said, an eyebrow raised.
"He said he might" Cynthia responded, knowing what the red-head was getting at. "He was interested in the idea of teaching a few whilst he remains here for a few days."
"Have you asked him about training with me?" Misty persisted.
"I spoke to him." Cynthia said, not giving anything away.
"And?"
"You will spend Thursday with him." Cynthia said, placating the red-head. "But please, this is supposed to be kept quiet, he will be working with everybody then." Misty nodded her agreement.
"Now, go do your job Miss Waterflower." Cynthia said, pushing the red-head towards the door. "There are trainers waiting for your wisdom."

The screen flickered into life, the face of a man who was clearly terrified appearing in it. A chair swiveled to face the TV, the man sat in the chair hidden in shadow. The face in the TV started to speak.

"Sir, I've just reached the Kanto training base. It is completely empty. No sign of struggle, the whole place is spotless, just no people."
"Have you looked into the security records?" a voice growled, emanating from the chair.
"They were wiped Sir. One of the techs with me says it can't be recovered"
"What about the terrain in front of the base?"
"Tire marks Sir, and some deep hoof prints, like a Rapidash charging."
"Very well. Pull your team back out of the base, and come to Goldenrod."
"Yes Sir."

The screen went black, throwing the room back into deep shadow. The man in the chair leant back, speaking into the darkness.

"So, somebody has managed to shut down an entire base. A small team would be essential, but to have no warning at all. Perhaps…"

Behind him a door opened, and a man stepped in, his head hidden under a hood. He wore a Team Rocket uniform, fitting perfectly around his lean figure. He bowed his head as the chair swung around to face him.

"Agent. Report" the man in the chair commanded.
"Sir, our informant at Indigo has gotten in touch. He felt it was too important to wait for his usual reports. A large number of Rockets were brought in on buses yesterday. Guarded by the Pokémon Masters Pokémon."
"So it is him."
"Sir?"
"Our Kanto training base has been wiped out. All the recruits have been taken somewhere. That will be where. The simple assumption is that the Pokémon Master is responsible."
"Yes Sir. But if he took the Kanto base, surely he would know where the Goldenrod base is from captured intelligence?"
"Yes Agent. And I suspect he will come alone. A trap will be set for him. You are our best since we rebuilt, you will be responsible for setting it. You may use all our assets, including that one. I want regular reports. You will have at most a few days; he won't wait long before striking."
"With respect sir, he won't be able to attack straight away. To bring buses from the Kanto base would take at least two days, if he was travelling to avoid being seen it would take longer. His Pokémon wouldn't have had a chance to sleep; he will need to let them recover."

The chair swung back away from the door in dismissal, and the Rocket Agent turned to leave. As he reached the door, he heard his boss's voice ring out one last time.

"Never underestimate the Pokémon Master, especially if he is who I think he is."

The Agent stopped in the door, but nothing else was forthcoming, so he stepped out, the door swinging shut behind him. In the darkness, Giovanni the head of Team Rocket smiled into the darkness.

"So, if you are who I think you are you are finishing the job you started four years ago. You nearly reached me then, but this time I'm ready. Come and get me if you dare, 'Champion'."

Misty stood facing the two trainers that had chosen to join her on the second day of the training camp. She had taken over the large water training area inside the training complex, and had spent the first part of the morning swimming with her Pokémon. The first day had been the hardest, since her recent battle against 'Champion' had raised her profile; she had nearly a dozen trainers to work with the previous day. This, as she had complained to Gary at the end of the day, wasn't fair given that there were only thirty trainers to start with. And Johto didn't even have a Water-Type gym. She had done the best she could, but had been grateful to see that she wouldn't have to produce a repeat performance today. Unlike teaching back in Cerulean, this was harder work simply because the trainers tended to be more arrogant, but also because they were stronger. Some of them were nearly as strong as her. However, after she had been swimming for about twenty minutes, two trainers had walked in, a boy and a girl. Misty had swum to the edge of the pool, climbed out, petted Gyarados to stop him getting annoyed at the interruption, and beckoned the pair over. Looking them up and down, she realized that they were very young.

"Good morning. Are you two here to work with your Water Pokémon?" she asked them.
The girl stepped forwards. "Gary Oak suggested that we work with you today. We trained with him yesterday, the only two he had, since most people had either gone to you or Cynthia. I'm Mellanie and this is Sam."
"Gary?" Misty asked with an eyebrow raised quizzically. "He didn't mention anything… I'll talk to him later. So why did he think that you should work with me?"
"Because my starter is a Water-type." Mellanie answered. "And recently he has been somewhat stubborn. He still listens to me, but I feel like there is something wrong."
"Fair enough. Water-Types are what I do best." Misty said with a grin. "Another thing, I presume you both are prepared to get wet?"
"Gary did warn us" Sam said. "Something about swimming."
"Correct. Join me in the pool when you're ready, and we'll see what we can do."

Misty turned and dived back into the pool, Gyarados taking up position on one side of her, whilst her Seaking swam on the other side. As the two youngsters started to strip down to swimsuits, Misty looked around the room she used for the training. It was completely dominated by the pool, which was at least three times the size of the one in the Cerulean Gym with the pool more than a hundred meters long. There were a few platforms, which could be moved, so she had set it up so that they were along the sides of the pool to be accessible but out of the way. It was perfect for her, and she found herself grateful that she had agreed to help Cynthia. A pair of splashes told her that Sam and Mellanie had joined her, and Misty rolled onto her front to swim over to them, where they were treading water. As she drew closer, she noted how Mellanie had left three of her Pokéballs on the side of the pool, and Sam had left one of his as well as noting with approval that despite this they were still wearing their Pokéball belts.

"Alright, first, how good are both of you at swimming?" Misty asked as she reached them.
"We're pretty good. We used to have races all the time when we were younger" Mellanie said.
"Good. Then why don't you have a race to the other end and back?" Misty said with a smile.

Before Mellanie could respond, Sam had exploded into motion, a front crawl causing him to move away from his friend at an impressive speed given his age. Mellanie glared at him and was about to set off straight after him when she felt Misty's arm stopping her.

"Remember, you are a Pokémon trainer, in water. Use your Pokémon to help you."

Mellanies face lit up, and she pulled out one of her Pokéballs, releasing her Poliwag. A quick word with her Pokémon caused it to nod, and Mellanie set off in a front crawl, but without using her feet. Poliwag swam behind her and pushed against her feet, causing her to move quicker. Before she reached the end she had overtaken Sam, who, because Poliwag was hidden under the water, couldn't see what she was doing. Mellanie turned, pushed off the wall at the end and started to race back, leaving Sam comfortably behind. As she reached Misty, Mellanie started to tread water again, and Poliwag swum in front of her, bobbing around, happy to be in the water as well as beating Sam. As Sam got closer, the Tadpole Pokémon swam into Mellanies arms, and then used its tail and feet to keep both of them afloat. As Sam reached them, he started to tread water again, as the two girls faced him grinning wildly. He looked at Misty, before his eyes travelled to Mellanie and then to Poliwag who was still happily grinning from her trainers arms.

"You used Poliwag didn't you Mel?" Sam asked. Mellanie nodded. "And let me guess, that isn't cheating is it?" Misty shook her head, with a wide grin still on her face.
"Not bad Sam, you're a good swimmer, but to work well with Water Pokémon you need to get the feel for what it is to be a Water Pokémon. And that means swimming with them as well as training with them. Look at Poliwag, she is clearly happy to be swimming, and she is happy to be with Mellanie. Water Pokémon are one of the types where it is possible to work with them in their natural element without any danger. I mean, you would be foolish to follow a Fire-Type into a volcano, and it is hard to fly with a Flying-type, although not impossible, yet swimming is safe."

The two young trainers looked at each other, a new respect for the specialist that they were working with evident in their expressions. Their attention snapped back to Misty as she started to speak once again.

"I notice that both of you left Pokéballs on the side, I presume those are Pokémon that would struggle in the water?" Sam and Mellanie nodded. "Smart. Why don't you release the Pokémon that you have with you that would enjoy the water? If they aren't Water-types, try releasing them onto platforms first."

Sam started to swim towards the nearest platform, and released his Pokémon as he got closer. All five of the Pokémon he was carrying materialized on the platform, and looked around. They had been warned that there would be water involved today but they hadn't expected to be released into the middle of a pool. Sam's Ghastly floated over the pool, whilst his Furret sat on the platform looking at the water dubiously. Pidgeotto and Butterfree took off, hovering over the pool whilst Wooper let out a sound of joy and dived into the pool splashing around happily. Mellanie on the other hand had simply thrown one of her Pokéballs to a different platform, where Machop materialized. He looked down at the water before seeing his reflection and started admiring his muscles. She then released her Totodile into the water next to her where he started to splash about.

Misty suddenly rose out of the water by about a meter, riding on the head of her Gyarados. The head moved close to Totodile, who stopped splashing when confronted with the Atrocious Pokémon. Totodile turned somewhat uncertainly to his trainer who merely gestured for him to listen to the women who sat on the Pokémon that was towering above him.

"Well, you're certainly a strong Pokémon." Misty started, looking down at the Big Jaw Pokémon. "But your trainer says she's been having problems with you. Let's see… What attacks can you do?"

The words had hardly left Misty's mouth when Totodile unleashed a Hydro Pump at Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokémon, caught unawares, reeled back from the blast which was powerful enough to nearly knock him over. Recovering, he glowered down at Totodile, who simply grinned back. Misty, who had survived her Pokémon being knocked back, put a calming hand on Gyarados, before looking over at Mellanie.

"Totodile knows Hydro Pump?" Mellanie nodded. "Interesting. Usually, Totodile evolve well before they learn moves that powerful. Sam?" the boy's head snapped around. "Your starter, is at a Johto Pokémon as well?" Sam nodded. "Can you show me?"

Sam called out a command to Pidgeotto who swooped over the pool, before grabbing Sam's sixth Pokéball, and releasing Quilava on the side of the pool. The Volcano Pokémon appeared, looking out across the pool. Misty looked at him, and then turned back to Sam.

"That is a powerful Pokémon Sam. He looks almost ready to evolve again. How many Gyms have you two taken on?"
"Three." Sam answered, before gesturing to his Pokémon to follow him as he swam over to Quilava, Furret having finally decided to try swimming.
Misty turned back to Totodile. "Assuming that Mellanie got you at the same time as Sam got Quilava; you should also have evolved… So why haven't you?"

Totodile turned his head slightly, staring back at the Water Specialist, as if challenging her to work it out. Mellanie was still treading water, with Poliwag still in her arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Machop still showing off to his reflection and she gestured for him to join them in the water. As the Fighting Type dived in and started to swim across, Misty suddenly jumped off Gyarados' head, landing next to Totodile.

"Right. You clearly have a problem, but there doesn't seem to be a reason for one. Unless you are just being difficult…" Misty suddenly stopped talking as a memory suddenly surfaced in her thoughts. Years previously, when she was travelling through Johto, a Totodile, belonging to her friend Ash messing around, clearly enjoying himself. She grinned as the solution struck her. Turning back to Mellanie, Misty started talking again.

"Let me guess, Totodile was difficult after a defeat? You started to focus more on training to make sure it didn't happen again, and Totodile started to be more difficult after that?"
Mellanie was shocked. "How on earth did you know all that?" she asked.
"Because your Totodile wants to have fun. My guess is that he simply hasn't evolved because then he would be bigger and it might restrict him from enjoying himself. Let him have fun as well as training, and you should be alright."

Mellanie turned back to see her Totodile grinning, before kicking away and swimming across the pool. Smiling, she turned back to Misty who had a gleam in her eye. The Water Specialist gestured for them to join Sam on the side of the pool, and struck out, leaving Mellanie to follow her.

Ash stood looking out across the island he lived on. The island was a short distance away from Indigo Plateau, leaving him an easy journey to and from the Pokémon Leagues base whenever he needed to go. Those who had seen it called it Mystery Island simply because none of them had ever managed to get onto it. There was only one way in from land which was along a bridge that had a gate that could only be opened by either Psychic strength or by aura. However, it was so complicated that only the very strongest of either would be able to open it, Ash and his two Psychic types being the only ones capable. To try to reach the island by water was even more complex as boats found themselves caught in vicious rapids that invariably ended up taking them away from the island. And the two brave men who had tried to fly onto the island had found themselves hit by huge winds that had forced them to head away, or risk being knocked out of the sky. As such, it was a perfect place for somebody who was as private as Ash to live. His Pokémon and him could live and train in peace, without having to worry about anybody. Crucially in Ashs mind, there was absolutely no way that the media who dogged every Pokémon Master would be able to reach him. As such, he was perfectly able to relax there. Without turning, Ash felt Espeon stroll up behind him, the Sun Pokémon standing proud next to her trainer. Ash reached down and scratched her behind the ears, causing her to purr. Looking back out across Mystery Island, Ash started to speak.

"On Thursday we will be teaching some trainers." Espeon looked up, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Yes, I thought you would be surprised. There are two trainers there who could be strong. They are young now, but with the right encouragement, they will become very strong. They would be good partners for us. Friday, we will start our strike at the heart of Team Rocket, giving us time to reach Goldenrod overnight. We will hit every floor that is above ground at once, before striking into the underground areas. There can be no place where they can escape, and this time we will get Giovanni."

Espeon mewed quietly, and Ash turned his head to look down at her.

"I know, I suspect the same thing. I thought that he would know that we are coming, but that can't be helped. At best, we will just have to spring the trap, and move through it. If it is what I think it will be, then you will have to trust me."
"Espeon?"
"Simple. If Giovanni knows that we are coming, he will have a guaranteed escape route. He will also try to trap me, and then let time wear the rest of you down. If you look like breaking through to him, he will simply vanish again, and we are back where we started. Assuming I'm right, you will pull out, and leave me trapped. When I know that Giovanni is present, and with me, I will send out a message that you will be able to detect. Alakazam can then teleport you all in, and we have Giovanni."

Espeon looked up at her trainer, master and friend, worry written over her face. She knew that Ash was powerful, but she still feared leaving him in the hands of Team Rocket. The logic in his plan was sound, as it was the best way to guarantee that they would be able to capture Giovanni, but she still didn't like the idea. Ash, noting the worry in her expression did not need her to talk to know what she was thinking.

"Espeon, this is one where you are going to have to trust me. If you stay nearby, you will be able to sustain a mental link for a short while, so you won't be cut off. However, ultimately, Giovanni will not want to risk his capture, so it could take a while for him to be sufficiently confident that he has actually subdued me. Patience will be key. Now, let us go see the others."

Ash turned back towards his house, Espeon easily keeping pace alongside him. His Pokémon had all slept for most of the day when they returned, utterly exhausted from their work in capturing the Rockets. Ash had been proud of them; they had done everything he could ever ask of them. However, he knew their loyalty to him. They would not enjoy the plan that he knew he had to use if he was able to capture Giovanni and finally end Team Rocket. Many of them still remembered his fury four years previously when he had fought his way through the Rockets, Espeon at his side, and his other Pokémon fighting throughout the headquarters under Viridian Gym.

When Ash had reached the room where they expected to find Giovanni, only to find it empty. There had been a tunnel, dug out at the back, behind a hidden door. Ash had smashed the door from its hinges, to find railway tracks, which showed him Giovanni's escape route. Knowing that to chase would be fruitless, Ash turned and strode straight back out of the room, to find his Pokémon. After he had collected them all, he assembled his Pokémon in front of the Rockets that were still on their feet, which was definitely a minority. Looking back over them, he had seen the injuries to the ten Pokémon he had at the time, all for nothing. His anger had cowed the Rockets, and none of them had dared move until the police showed up to arrest despite the fact that Ash had left nearly fifteen minutes previously. He had however, taken the highest rank Rocket that he had found with him; Domino. The Black Tulip had been unconscious when Ash found her, unable to take the impact of a Pokémon that Aggron had sent flying into her. By the time Ash had found the Rocket headquarters, she had been the Rockets second in command, and so was the alternative target given Giovanni's escape. Faced with Ash's anger, she had been terrified, but refused to talk about where her boss might be. At first Ash thought she was merely being brave, but after Espeon had searched her mind, he realized that Domino simply didn't know. Giovanni had vanished into the wilderness. As a result, Ash had taken Domino to a Police station and left her tied up. She was sufficiently well known by the police that she was arrested on the spot, and the Viridian police had remained quietly grateful that their cover-up of the whole affair was continued.

What Ash's Pokémon would remember from the whole episode was the way he very nearly lost control. Espeon had to restrain him because he had looked like he was going to kill Domino. When he forced the Sun Pokémon to her limit to restrain him, Alakazam and Aggron stepped in. Between the three of them they had managed to restrain their enraged trainer, preventing him from taking revenge for their injuries which had been gained for nothing on the women in front of them. It was this that prevented Domino from even attempting to flee; she had decided that anybody who took three Pokémon to restrain was clearly not somebody that she wanted hunting her. Ash hoped to use this memory to persuade his Pokémon that he needed them to pretend to abandon him.

Reaching the clearing behind the house where his Pokémon were resting, Ash stopped walking, and the Pokémon quickly lined up in front of him. After laying out his plan for the attack in Goldenrod, Ash held up a hand to forestall any complaints.

"Before you all complain, hear me out." Ash said. "Four years ago, we fought our way through hell, to find Giovanni had escaped. If we go about it the same way, he will do the same thing again. This we cannot permit. Those of you who were there will remember the way I reacted when I found that you had all been hurt for no reason. Now, I understand that none of the injuries were life threatening, and that you have picked up worse in training. However, they were by far the worst injuries that you have ever had for no reason at all. As a result, I will not permit it to happen again. So, argue all you want, this is one time where I must ask for your unequivocal trust. And this time we will bring down Giovanni."

A/N

Firstly, sorry for the delay in this chapter going up; I've been internet-less for a week, so haven't been able to upload. Hopefully, now I'm home again I'll be able to go back to a somewhat more regular update schedule.

Secondly, thanks once again to all of you who have reviewed. Gives me some idea as to how each chapter is received, and gives me some ideas as to how to write each chapter. So, please keep reviewing, and if you desperately want something to appear in the story, shout it out and I'll see what I can do; some things I just haven't written, like the gym reviews for the rest of Kanto. Sorry to the person that requested that, but I wanted to move on. But regardless, please keep reading and reviewing, and as always, if you don't like what I've written, shout it loud and clear. I might even listen.

And finally, a note about two of the younger characters. Sam and Mellanie will, as you might have guessed, play important parts in the story as it develops. However, since I haven't really written much about their travels, if you've managed to keep track of all their Pokémon, I'm very impressed. If you haven't bothered or managed, I've listed them below. Equally, if you want me to list any other characters Pokémon, just put it in a review or a PM and I'll put it at the end of the next chapter, most of the main characters (and a few minor ones) have a team worked out, although if you think that a particular trainer should have a particular Pokémon, say and I'll consider it.

Sam: Quilava, Ghastly, Furret, Wooper, Pidgeotto, Butterfree
Mellanie: Totodile, Poliwag, Machop, Mareep, Geodude, Bellsprout